Georgia Work Permit: Who Needs One, Hour Limits, and Penalties

In Georgia, a work permit — formally an employment certificate — is required for any minor aged 12 through 15 before they can start a job.¹ The permit is applied for online through the Georgia Department of Labor, but it is issued by a school official, and the application only goes through once the minor, the employer, and the school issuing officer have each done their part.² Once you turn 16, you no longer need a state work permit for most jobs.

Who Needs a Work Permit in Georgia

The requirement applies to any minor who is at least 12 but has not yet turned 16.¹ That covers the 14- and 15-year-olds taking their first retail or fast-food job, and it also covers the narrower set of jobs 12- and 13-year-olds can legally hold. No child under 12 may work in any gainful occupation outside a few exempt categories.

As of July 1, 2015, minors aged 16 and 17 no longer need a state-issued work permit.³ There is one exception: minors in the entertainment industry need a separate certificate regardless of age, which is covered further down.

Jobs That Don’t Require a Permit

Georgia carves out several categories where no employment certificate is needed, regardless of the minor’s age:

Agricultural work
Domestic service in a private home
Employment by a parent or someone standing in the place of a parent

Federal law mirrors the agricultural exemption. Children of any age may work on a farm owned or operated by a parent.⁴

What You Need to Apply

The application pulls information from three parties. Getting everything together before you start saves back-and-forth.

The minor brings:

A certified copy of a birth certificate or birth registration card. The statute specifically requires this document; a passport or driver’s permit does not satisfy it.¹
A Social Security number, or a parent’s alien certification number, to log into the online system.³
Date of birth, used with the SSN to access the portal.

The employer provides a written statement describing the job being offered and confirming they are ready to hire the minor once the certificate is issued.¹ You generally need a job offer in hand before applying, because each certificate is tied to a specific employer and position.

The school issuing officer verifies that the minor is enrolled full-time in school or a home-study program and has good attendance for the current academic year. That school verification letter must accompany the certificate, and the employer must keep both on file. The letter has to be updated every January for as long as the minor remains employed and under 16.¹

How the Online Application Works

Georgia handles work permits through an online portal on the Department of Labor’s website. The process runs in three stages, each completed by a different party:³

The minor starts the application by logging in with their SSN (or a parent’s alien certification number) and date of birth, then filling in personal and demographic details.
The employer logs in with their business telephone number and adds the business information, the job description, and the proposed work schedule.
An authorized issuing officer reviews the completed file, confirms age and enrollment, and issues the certificate electronically.

Homeschooled minors, minors not currently attending school, and out-of-state minors follow a slightly different path. They must bring a birth certificate directly to an issuing officer rather than relying only on the online portal.²

Who Issues the Permit

The certificate comes from an authorized issuing officer, not from the Department of Labor itself. Authorized issuers include:²

The County Superintendent of Schools or their designee
A designated issuing officer at a public school, often a guidance counselor or registrar
The principal administrative officer of a licensed private school, or their designee

The issuing officer must confirm that the minor is at least 12, is physically fit for the proposed job, and is enrolled in school with good attendance.¹ Most minors handle this through their own school. If your school doesn’t have a designated issuing officer, contact the county superintendent’s office.

Hour Limits for 14- and 15-Year-Olds

Georgia imposes tight limits on when and how much 14- and 15-year-olds can work. The rules shift depending on whether school is in session:⁵

During the school year: no more than 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week. Work must fall between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., and not during normal school hours.
When school is out: up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. From June 1 through Labor Day, the evening cutoff extends to 9:00 p.m.

That 9:00 p.m. extension only runs from June 1 through Labor Day, not the entire summer break. If school ends in late May before June 1, you can work the longer daily hours but still have to stop at 7:00 p.m. for those few days. Same story on the other end: once Labor Day passes, the 7:00 p.m. cutoff returns even if classes haven’t started back up.

Workers aged 16 and 17 face no state or federal hour restrictions in Georgia. They can work the same shifts as adult employees.⁵

What Jobs Minors Can Hold

Georgia uses a “permitted list” approach for 14- and 15-year-olds. State regulations spell out the specific jobs these minors can hold, and anything not on the list is automatically prohibited.⁶ Permitted work generally includes office jobs, retail cashiering, certain food-service tasks, and cleanup work using non-powered equipment. Operating power-driven lawn equipment, meat slicers, or industrial machinery is off-limits.

For any worker under 18, the Commissioner of Labor can declare an occupation dangerous to life, limb, health, or morals and prohibit minors from holding those jobs.⁷ Federal law adds another layer. The U.S. Department of Labor lists 17 Hazardous Occupations Orders that ban anyone under 18 from work involving explosives, coal mining, roofing, excavation, logging, operating forklifts or cranes, and similar high-risk activities.⁸ When federal and state rules cover the same situation, whichever is stricter controls. A 16-year-old who doesn’t need a Georgia work permit still can’t legally drive a forklift or run a commercial meat slicer under federal law.

Entertainment Industry: A Separate Certificate

Minors working as actors, performers, models, or musicians in film, television, theater, or music recordings are exempt from the standard child labor chapter, but they still need written consent from the Commissioner of Labor before they can work. This Certificate of Consent is a different document from the regular employment certificate, and the entertainment rules apply regardless of the minor’s age.⁹

The parent or legal representative submits an electronic application to the GDOL. Once approved, the certification is valid for one calendar year and expires on December 31 of the year it was issued. Renewals are submitted electronically, and the GDOL must be notified within five business days of any change to the information on file.¹⁰ The production company, called the Employing Unit, needs its own separate certification from the GDOL before it can hire any minors.

Penalties for Employers Who Don’t Comply

Any person, firm, or corporation that violates the child labor chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor.¹¹ The recordkeeping penalty is spelled out more specifically: an employer who fails to keep the employment certificate and the school enrollment letter on file can face a fine of up to $1,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both, for each violation.¹ That “each violation” language matters. If three minors are working without proper paperwork, that can mean three separate charges. The certificate must be kept on the premises where the work is performed for the entire time the minor is employed there.²

1
Justia. Georgia Code 39-2-11 – Employment Certificates Required; Requirements for Issuance
2
Georgia Department of Labor. Child Labor Employment Certificate Instructions
3
Georgia Department of Labor. Get A Youth Work Permit Online
4
U.S. Department of Labor. FLSA – Child Labor Rules Advisor – Section: Exemptions from Child Labor Rules in Agriculture
5
Georgia Department of Labor. Child Labor Work Hour Restrictions
6
Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Code 300-7-2 – Child Labor Hazardous Occupations
7
Justia. Georgia Code 39-2-2 – Employment of Minors Under 16
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #43: Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Nonagricultural Occupations
9
Georgia Department of Labor. Child Labor and Minors in Entertainment
10
Legal Information Institute. Georgia Comp. R. and Regs. R. 300-7-1-.06 – Minor Certification
11
Justia. Georgia Code 39-2-20 – Penalty for Violations of Chapter